Ludwig Van Beethoven was 1 Of the 7 children born to Johann Beethoven, himself the only survivor of 3, only second-born Ludwig and 2 younger brothers survived infancy. Beethoven was baptised on 17 December 1770. Although his birth date is not known for certain, his family celebrated his birthday on 16 December.

Beethoven moved to Vienna in his early 20s and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Beethoven's hearing gradually deteriorated beginning in his 20s, yet he continued to compose masterpieces, and to conduct and perform, even after he was completely deaf. Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most respected and influential composers of all time.

Beethoven's parents were Johann van Beethoven (1740 in Bonn–1792) and Maria Magdalena Keverich (1744 in Ehrenbreitstein–1787). Magdalena's father Johann Heinrich Keverich had been Chef at the court of the Archbishopric of Trier at Festung Ehrenbreitstein fortress opposite to Koblenz. Beethoven was, like their first child Ludwig Maria, named after his grandfather Ludwig (1712–1773), a musician of Roman Catholic Flemish ancestry who was at one time Kapellmeister at the court of Clemens August of Bavaria, the Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, and who married Beethoven's grandmother Maria Josepha Ball (1714–1775) in 1733.

Beethoven's first music teacher was his father, who was a tenor in the service of the Electoral court at Bonn. Beethoven was reportedly a harsh instructor. Johann later engaged a friend, Tobias Pfeiffer, to preside over his son's musical training, and it is said Johann and his friend would at times come home late from a night of drinking to pull young Beethoven out of bed to practice until morning. Beethoven's talent was recognized at a very early age, and by 1778 he was studying the organ and viola in addition to the piano. Beethoven's most important teacher in Bonn was Christian Gottlob Neefe, who was the Court's Organist. Neefe helped Beethoven publish his first composition: a set of keyboard variations.

A portrait of the 13 year old Beethoven by an unknown Bonn master The young Beethoven's talent was spotted in Bonn by Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein, who became one of his early patrons and, in 1787, enabled him to travel to Vienna for the first time, in hopes of studying with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is not clear whether he succeeded in meeting Mozart, or if he did whether Mozart was willing to accept him as a pupil; see Mozart and Beethoven. In any event, the declining health of Beethoven's mother, dying of tuberculosis, forced him to return home after only about 2 weeks in Vienna. Beethoven's mother died on 17 July 1787, when Beethoven was 16.

Due to his father's worsening alcohol addiction, Beethoven became responsible for raising his 2 younger brothers.

In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he studied for a time with Joseph Haydn: his hopes of studying with Mozart had been shattered by Mozart's death the previous year. Beethoven received additional instruction from Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (Vienna's pre-eminent counterpoint instructor) and Antonio Salieri. By 1793, Beethoven established a reputation in Vienna as a piano virtuoso. Beethhoven's first works with opus numbers, a set of 3 piano trios, appeared in 1795. Beethoven settled into the career pattern he would follow for the remainder of his life: rather than working for the church or a noble court (as most composers before him had done), he supported himself through a combination of annual stipends or single gifts from members of the aristocracy; income from subscription concerts, concerts, and lessons; and proceeds from sales of his works.

Beethoven’s patrons loved his music but were not quick to support him. Beethoven eventually came to rely more on patrons such as Count Franz Joseph Kinsky, (d. 1811), Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz (1772–1816) and Karl Alois Johann-Nepomuk Vinzenz, Fürst Lichnowsky, and as these patrons died or reneged on their pledges, Beethoven fell into debt. In 1807, Prince Lobkowitz advised Beethoven to apply for the position of composer of the Imperial Theatres, but the nobility who had newly been placed in charge of the post did not respond. Beethoven considered leaving Vienna: in the fall of 1808, he was offered a position as chapel maestro at the court of Jerome Bonaparte, the king of Westphalia, which he accepted. To persuade him to stay in Vienna, the Archduke Rudolf, Count Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, after receiving representations from the composer’s friends, pledged to pay Beethoven a pension of 4000 florins a year. Only Archduke Rudolf paid his share of the pension on the agreed date. Kinsky, immediately called to duty as an officer, did not contribute and soon died after falling from his horse. Lobkowitz stopped paying in September 1811. No successors came forward to continue the patronage, and Beethoven relied mostly on selling composition rights and a smaller pension after 1815.

Beethoven in 1803 Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. Beethoven suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. Beethoven lived for a time in the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, just outside Vienna. Here he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament, which records his resolution to continue living for and through his art. Over time, his hearing loss became profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he began to weep. Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent his composing music, but it made concerts—lucrative sources of income—increasingly hard.

Beethoven used a special rod attached to the soundboard on a piano that he could bite—the vibrations would then transfer from the piano to his jaw to increase his perception of the sound. A large collection of his hearing aids such as special ear horns can be viewed at the Beethoven House Museum in Bonn, Germany. Despite his obvious distress, however, Czerny remarked that Beethoven could still hear speech and music normally until 1812. By 1814 however, Beethoven was almost totally deaf, and when a group of visitors saw him play a loud arpeggio or thundering bass notes at his piano remarking, "Ist es nicht schön?" (Isn't that beautiful?), they felt deep sympathy considering his courage and sense of humor.

Beethoven in 1823; copy of a destroyed portrait by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller as a result of Beethoven's hearing loss, a unique historical record has been preserved: his conversation books. Beethoven's friends wrote in the book so that he could know what they were saying, and he then responded either verbally or in the book. The books contain discussions about music and other issues, and give insights into his thinking; they are a source for investigation into how he felt his music should be performed, and also his perception of his relationship to art. Unfortunately, 264 out of a total of 400 conversation books were destroyed (and others were altered) after Beethoven's death by Anton Schindler, in his attempt to paint an idealized picture of the composer.

Beethoven's personal life was troubled. Beethhoven encroaching deafness led him to contemplate suicide (documented in his Heiligenstadt Testament). Beethoven was often irascible and may have suffered from bipolar disorder and irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain beginning in his 20s that has been attributed to his lead poisoning. Beethoven, nevertheless, had a close and devoted circle of friends all his life, thought to have been attracted by his reputed strength of personality. Towards the end of his life, Beethoven's friends competed in their efforts to help him cope with his incapacities.

Sources show Beethoven's disdain for authority, and for social rank. Beethoven stopped performing at the piano if the audience chatted among themselves, or afforded him less than their full attention. At soirées, he refused to perform if suddenly called upon to do so. Eventually, after many confrontations, the Archduke Rudolph decreed that the usual rules of court etiquette did not apply to Beethoven.

The women who attracted Beethoven were unattainable because they were either married or aristocratic. Beethoven never married, although he was engaged to Giulietta Guiccardi. Giulietta father was the main obstacle to their marriage. Giulietta's marriage to a nobleman was unhappy, and when it ended in 1822, she attempted unsuccessfully to return to Beethoven. Beethoven's only other documented love affair with an identified woman began in 1805 with Josephine von Brunswick, young widow of the Graf von Deym. It is believed the relationship ended by 1807 because of Beethoven's indecisiveness and the disapproval of Josephine's aristocratic family.

In 1812, Beethoven wrote a long love letter to a woman he identified only as "Immortal Beloved". Several candidates have been suggested, including Antonie Brentano, but the identity of the woman to whom the letter was written has never been proven.

Beethoven in 1818 by August Klöber On 15 November 1815 Beethoven's brother Karl van Beethoven died of tuberculosis leaving a son Karl, Beethoven's nephew. Although Beethoven had shown little interest in the boy up to this point, he now became totally obsessed with the possession of this nine year old child. The fight for custody of his nephew brought out the very worst aspects of Beethoven's character. In the lengthy court cases Beethoven stopped at nothing to ensure that he achieved this goal. At this time Beethoven stopped composing for long periods.

The Austrian court system had one court for the nobility, The R&I Landrechte, and another for commoners, The Civil Court of the Magistrate. Beethoven disguised the fact that the Dutch "van" in his name did not denote nobility as does the Germanic "von", and his case was tried in the Landrechte. Due to his influence with the court, he felt assured of a favorable outcome. Beethoven was awarded sole guardianship. Karl's mother, Johanna, a commoner and a widow with little money, was not only refused access to her son, except under exceptional circumstances, but Beethoven insisted that she pay for her son's education out of her inadequate pension. While giving evidence to the Landrechte, however, Beethoven inadvertently admitted that he was not nobly born. The case was transferred to the Magistracy on 18 December 1818, where he lost sole guardianship.

Beethoven appealed, and regained custody of Karl. Johanna's appeal for justice and human rights to the Emperor was not successful: the Emperor "washed his hands of the matter". Beethoven stopped at nothing to blacken both their characters, as can be read in surviving court papers. When Karl could stand his tyrannical uncle no longer, he attempted suicide on 31 July 1826 by shooting himself in the head. Beethoven survived, and later asked to be taken to his mother's house. This desperate action finally freed Karl from the bonds of Beethoven.

After Beethoven lost custody of his nephew, he went into a decline that led to his death on Monday 26 March 1827 during a thunderstorm.

This was Romain Rolland's description of Beethoven’s final day:

"That day was tragic. There were heavy clouds in the sky… around 4 or 5 in the afternoon the murky clouds cast darkness in the entire room. Suddenly a terrible storm started, with blizzard and snow… thunder made the room shudder, illuminating it with the cursed reflection of lightning on snow. Beethoven opened his eyes and with a threatening gesture raised his right arm towards the sky with his fist clenched. The expression of his face was horrifying. His hand fell to the ground. His eyes closed. Beethoven was no more."

Beethoven grave, Vienna ZentralfriedhofA Viennese pathologist and forensic expert Christian Reiter (head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Vienna Medical University) claimed that Beethoven's physician, Andreas Wawruch, inadvertently hastened Beethoven's death. According to Reiter, Wawruch worsened Beethoven's already lead poisoned condition with lead poultices applied after repeated surgical draining of his bloated abdomen. Various theories attempt to explain how Beethoven's lead poisoning first developed, and he was very sick for years. Reiter's hypothesis however is at odds with Wawruch's written instruction "that the wound was kept dry all the time". Furthermore human hair is a very bad biomarker for lead contamination and Reiter's hypothesis must be considered dubious, because of the lack of proper scholarly documentation in his article.

Ludwig van Beethoven: detail of an 1804 portrait by W.J. MählerBeethoven was attracted to the ideals of the Enlightenment and by the growing Romanticism in Europe. Beethoven initially dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica (Italian for "heroic"), to Napoleon, believing that the general intended to sustain the democratic and republican ideals of the French Revolution. But in 1804, when Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, Beethoven took hold of the title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently that he made a hole in the paper. Beethhoven later changed the work's title to "Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire d'un grand'uom" ("Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man"), and he rededicated it to his patron, Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz, at whose palace it was first performed.

Beethoven gave, Vienna Zentralfriedof The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony features an elaborate choral setting of Schiller's Ode An die Freude ("Ode to Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity. Since 1972, an orchestral version of this part of the fourth movement, arranged by the conductor Herbert von Karajan, has been the European anthem as announced by the Council of Europe.

In 1985 it was adopted as the anthem of the European Community / European Union.

Scholars disagree about Beethoven's religious beliefs, and about the role they played in his work: It has been asserted, but not proven, that Beethoven was a Freemason.

Like the earlier composer Handel, Beethoven worked freelance—arranging subscription concerts, selling his compositions to publishers, and gaining financial support from a number of wealthy patrons—rather than seeking out permanent employment by the church or by an aristocratic court.

Beethoven is acknowledged as one of the giants of Western classical music; occasionally he is referred to as one of the "three Bs" (along with Bach and Brahms) who epitomize that tradition. Beethoven was also a pivotal figure in the transition from 18th century musical classicism to 19th century romanticism, and his influence on subsequent generations of composers was profound.

Beethoven was one of the first composers of the post-Renaissance era to use, systematically, interlocking thematic devices, or "germ-motifs", to achieve inter-movement unity in long compositions. Equally remarkable was his use of "source-motifs", which recurred in many different compositions. Beethoven brought innovations to most of the genres in which he worked; for example, he introduced an elasticity to the previously well-crystallized form of the rondo, drawing it closer to sonata form.

Beethoven composed in various genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, an opera, and lieder. Beethoven is viewed as one of the most important transitional figures between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history.

Working with the traditions of the classical sonata forms, he continued the work of Haydn and Mozart in expanding and loosening the structures and becoming increasingly reliant on motivic development.

Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods. In this scheme, his early period is taken to last until about 1802, the middle period from about 1803 to about 1814, and the late period from about 1815.

In his Early (Classical) period, while starting out under the influence of his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, he explored new directions and gradually expanded the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first 6 string quartets, the first 3 piano concertos, and the first 20 piano sonatas, including the famous "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" sonatas.

Beethoven's Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis brought on by his recognition of encroaching deafness. It is noted for large-scale works that express heroism and struggle, many of which have become very famous. Middle-period works include 6 symphonies (Nos. 3–8), the 4th and 5th piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, 5 string quartets (Nos. 7–11), the next 7 piano sonatas (including the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata"), the "Kreutzer" Violin Sonata and Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio.

Beethoven's Late (Romantic) period began around 1815. Works from this period are characterized by their intellectual depth, their formal innovations, and their intense, highly personal expression. For example, the String Quartet, Op. 131 has seven linked movements, and the 9th Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement. Other compositions from this period include the "Missa Solemnis", the last 5 string quartets (including the massive "Grosse Fuge") and the last 5 piano sonatas, of which the "Hammerklavier" Sonata is the best known.

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'Intensity' is a word that can be used to express a wide range of emotions, and in that respect it's the perfect way to describe Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. One of the finest alto sax players in the business, Pepper got hooked on heroin during his tenure in the Stan Kenton Orchestra in the late-1940's and early-50's, and eventually spent more than a decade in prison - including most of the 60's. He created some of the loveliest jazz on record, and took methadone until the day he died.

Recorded in late November, 1960, Intensity was released after Pepper was already in prison for heroin possession. It would prove to be his last session in a recording studio until 1973, during which time jazz music underwent sweeping changes. Intensity is composed entirely of covers that show off the range of Pepper's musical dexterity. 'I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me' swings from Jimmy Bond's bass, with Pepper dodging playfully around the melody. 'Come Rain Or Come Shine' finds him in a mournful tone, halfway between a ballad and the blues. 'Long Ago (And Far Away)' is a musical 40-yard dash.

Pepper was often lumped in with the soft-boiled 'West Coast' jazz movement merely because of geography, but his playing style didn't fit the description. He was heavily influenced by Charlie Parker, but played 'cool' jazz during the 50's. When he returned to music after his time in prison, he established a more aggressive tone that was a huge departure from his earlier sound. Many critics appreciated Pepper's musical evolution, and by the time he died at age 56 in 1982, he was widely regarded as the greatest alto player in the world. Intense, right to the very end.

Listen: I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me

The Meters enjoyed just four moderate hit singles in their dozen years of existence. But their influence on the sound of modern music stands in direct contrast to that modest commercial success. They released a couple of all-instrumental albums for regional label Josie before signing to Warner's Reprise label and working in a more funk/rock vein for most of the 70's. All of their albums contain gems, and none are below average. With 43 tracks spread over two generous discs, Rhino's Funkify Your Life: The Meters Anthology collects all the high points in one super-funky package.

The Meters were a band in the truest sense of the word: there's not a weak link to be found among their ranks. Drummer Joseph 'Zigaboo' Modeliste drove the band with his perfectly imprecise, zig-zagging rhythms that snaked in and around Art Neville's Hammond lines. Meanwhile, guitarist Leo Nocentelli and bassist George Porter Jr were off doing their own funky thang that would inevitably meet up with Modeliste and Neville's funky thang every couple of measures or so. Incredibly loose, but super-tight: it's a contradiction for almost every band except The Meters.

In addition to their own albums, The Meters were producer Allen Toussaint's house band, and played on sessions for a wide variety of artists, including Lee Dorsey, Dr. John, and Paul McCartney. [Fun fact: The Meters are the backing band on Labelle's disco smash 'Lady Marmalade' (ie "voulez vous couchez avec moi"). The Meters are ingrained into many different facets of funk music in the 70's, and that influence eventually stretched into hip-hop, where they're among the most consistently sampled acts.

Public Enemy producer Hank Shocklee has referred to The Meters' sound as "...the formula for funk and hip-hop as we know it." Unfortunately, the band broke up in 1977 when Toussaint exercised his right over the group's name. Art Neville would go on to form the Neville Brothers, and while The Original Meters would reunite to play a few shows over the course of the last decade, it's their music from 1969 to 1977 that still causes funk fans to shake their stuff, and DJs to hit the crossfade.

Listen: Cissy Strut

Worse, it's easier to obtain a pirated version of them. Masterpieces are supposed to be impossible to replicate, because they are not mass-produced like China toys. In fact, they are not mass-produced. Masterpieces are mindfully created. They are the brilliant work of the mind, inspired by life, made tangible by amazing hands, given soul by the heart. The magnanimous colours from sweat and blood. Immortalized by time.

I don't really know what I'm saying here.

*******

Anyway,

I have watched the Dark Knight, and I must say that it is the best comic book-based movie ever. No, it should't even be classified as a mere adaptation of the comic book. The original plot more likely conveys a thrilling psychological thriller. The Joker just gives you the shivers. The awesome cast brings justice to the awesome plot. It's a crime movie that ignites the senses. A film that successfully explores human frailty, human weakness, strength; inhumanity, humanity. Ah. I'm bad in giving good criticisms.

But I must say, watching Indian advertisements on YouTube with a biscuit and a cup of coffee for a few minutes is just as good as watching the best Batman movie ever with a popcorn and iced lemon tea for two and a half hours.

The Rolling Stones meant little to me when I moved to San Francisco in 1994. They seemed like a bunch of old dudes whose best days were well behind them, and while I might have thrown on Hot Rocks or Some Girls every now and again, they were definitely not where my head was at. But SF unlocked dozens of musical doors for me almost immediately: The Fillmore West reopened for business mere weeks after I moved to the city, and drew me into its warm embrace right away. Just standing in the upstairs poster room, gazing open-mouthed at all the vintage psychedelic posters was (and is) like being beamed into another, cooler world.

My roommates Josh & Ben played live Grateful Dead cassette tapes 99% of the time, forcibly exposing me to miles of new music. Around this same time, Kurt Cobain died from a shotgun blast to the skull and Johnny Cash released American Recordings like an Old Testament thunder bolt. Things were happening, new music was all around me, and anything seemed possible. I was open to hearing whatever was in the air, and it all sounded good.

Meanwhile, my neighbor and friend Johnny Johnson was giving me a crash course in this crazy little band from England called the Rolling Stones. Particularly Exile On Main St. - an album that had never entered my mind or my ears before then. My dependence on it was total and instantaneous, forcing Johnson to kick me down his front stairs at 4:30am after 20, then 30 consecutive listens failed to sate my raving appetite. 'Get your own damned copy!' he yelled after me, waving a large wooden rolling pin in a rather menacing manner.

And so I did. For $1.99. And I grew to love this album. It became the de-facto soundtrack for everything from late night debate society practice to lobbing watermelons off the roof to sparring with drunken cabdriver/poets at the local watering hole. How could this dirty, disgraceful, rocking slab of fuzz not be my favorite album of all-time? It is, and so it shall remain.

So a tip of the cap to Johnny Johnson, who introduced me to my favorite album of all-time. Last time I checked, that's what friends are for.

Listen: Shine A Light

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I got lost in the middle of a plaza, and never did you appear. I cried and asked the people, and they said it clear. “He will always going to tell you, that he’ll always be there for you. But now look at you, have you found him? He is just there so it seem. But listen to me dear, your decisions begin here.” I stood up and left them all and never said a word. Is it true I am alone now? Let me see… I guess it’s true.

---->

I went in circles all day and never sighted you. Again I asked the people and sternly they say too, “If you don’t mind us saying, you should act less for him. You do so much so many. Remember yourself too. If you want to stay with him, then better act as his friend. You are not his sister or darling. So these things just come depend. Lessen your persistence, and act more mature. Perhaps then he’ll understand, that’ll he’ll be good without you”. I cried upon hearing. I guess they were right. This is just the beginning of a long tiresome night…

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The day next came uninvited to my weary weak eyes. And a hand suddenly appears before me. I looked up and saw you by. You ask me what I was doing, and that where I have been. You told me you tried to come and pick me, but I was never I the place. I asked people if they saw you. and they told me things. Then I bowed my head remembering. Those words they did say. You sat just beside me and whispered in my ear, “You listened to them too much. Have you even thought that I’ll come?” I answered, “Of course yes.” But you shook your head again, you said, “You listened too much to people, and forgot to hear yourself. If only you believed me, then you could just see. I was at the back of the fountain, just by the other side where you’ve been.”

---->

I bowed my head in silence, trying to realize things. “You were at the back of the fountain? What were you doing there? I tried to find you all day, but didn’t track you still. If all day was been given, it means you just waited for me? Did you even try to find me, instead of just standing there.” you started pouring out words, to justify your side. I said I’m just too tired to listen to it now. I stood up and started walking, far distance from you. “Just too tired to listen? Then why not listen to yourself.” Those are the words you hollered as you pulled my arm aback. “You’ve been listening to people, when will you listen to yourself? You told of once you’ll never let others decide your own fate. But now look at you, it’s the opposite I can say.” I just stared right back at you as you continuously said, “The question here is if you would stay, or leave me to my worse.” I answered, “I’ll stay with you of course but still, I have to tell you something. There are things my heart is saying, and words that are so loud.

Well guess what, "I’ll be listening to the crowd."

i was the "people" i am talking about after all. fuck life.

toodles.

There are two eras in modern Cuba: before the revolution, and after the revolution. Havana in the mid-50's was a glittering metropolis that featured plenty of casinos and nightlife. America was invested in the island at that time to the tune of $850 million, helping to build Havana into a thriving tourist destination. When Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba on January 1st, 1959, the character of the island literally changed overnight.

Fidel famously claimed that "A revolution is not a bed of roses" and he moved quickly to remove every hint of capitalism from Cuba. Gone were the casinos, bars, and social clubs, and along with them, any trace of tourism or nightlife. The musicians who had played the cha chas and boleros and son music that kept so many late night crowds moving were left to find more useful lines of employment.

Swept aside in this tidal wave of history were musicians such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez, Compay Segundo, and Omara Portuondo. When Ry Cooder traveled to Cuba in 1996 to record some of the players from the old Havana of the 40's and 50's, Ferrer was shining shoes for a living. Gonzalez hadn't played piano regularly because his own had been eaten by termites. These musicians were far from household names in Cuba, and many of them had simply stopped playing for lack of work and interest.

That Buena Vista Social Club faithfully captures the sound of pre-revolution Havana makes it a noteworthy musical achievement. The fact that it became a word-of-mouth sensation that eventually sold 8 million copies is nothing short of miraculous. After being buried alive for more than 40 years, Segundo, Ferrer, Gonzalez, and their Social Club compadres made an album that sounded positively vital in an era of rap-metal, Green Day, and Oasis.

Listen: De Camino a la Verada

In the spring of 1988, I was an 18 year-old kid wrapping up my freshman year at the University of Oregon. As summer closed in, some high school friends and I decided to get tickets to see INXS at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. INXS was hotter than blazes at the time - their album Kick was on its way to selling 9 million copies and spinning off five Top 10 singles, while the band dominated MTV.

Back then, Portland was the BIG CITY to me, and I'd never been to a concert before, so this was a serious adventure. To properly celebrate the occasion, Bobby Evans, Dennis Quigley and I enlisted the help of one of our classmates' older brothers. At the appointed time, Mike Simpson showed up with a bag of wine coolers and beer. We paid him $20 for his services, and as he was turning to leave, he asked "You guys need any party favors?"

So not only was this my first concert, it also turned out to be the first time I smoked the leafy green (and yes, I inhaled). Good times. I'm convinced that my feet didn't touch the parking lot on my way into the Coliseum - I just floated from our hotel room straight over to the show, with a huge smile plastered across my face.

The hustle and bustle of concerts is old hat to me now, but back then it was like dropping in on a carnival. Steel Pulse was playing when we entered the building, and to this day they're one of the best opening acts I've ever seen. They pulled this trick on stage where they danced around in a circle, slowing the music and their dancing in sync until they came to a complete, and silent, stop. To my stoned mind it was like watching reggae magic.

As luck would have it, our seats were in the last row of the upper deck, the very definition of nose-bleed. I don't know about Bobby and Dennis, but I couldn't have cared less - I was just happy to be in the building. It was a great show - INXS sounded fabulous and they played all the songs we wanted to hear. And because nobody in our party was arrested or killed, the evening can only be described as a massive success.

Of course, less than 10 years later, Michael Hutchence would hang himself in a hotel room in Sydney, effectively bringing INXS to an end. And in 1995 Memorial Coliseum was replaced by the Rose Garden as the home of the Portland Trailblazers. It still sits in the same spot, but it's now a building without a purpose or a future. But in my mind's eye, the dead rock star and the dusty building are still alive and rocking, the crowd hasn't stopped cheering, and that dumb grin is still all over my face.

Listen: Need You Tonight

*****

Question: What was your first show?

Here are some of favorites from this series:

Garden Jamboree

Sacred Storm

Paradise Found

My Favorite Game

Download Enigma game from Relaxlet

Invaluable masterpieces are being stolen all over the world! Who are the mysterious thieves and where have they taken the stolen art? Recover the pieces and then use your skills as an artist to restore any that were damaged during the heist. 50 masterpieces from the Renaissance through the 20th century await you!

Quicksilver Messenger Service was the last 'San Francisco Sound' band of the late 60's to sign with a major label. It wasn't because they were lacking offers, or holding out for more money or creative control, as many then assumed - they held out because they were waiting for their presumptive lead singer, Dino Valente, to get sprung from jail on drug charges. As Valente's legal troubles drew on, the group finally decided to press forward and record their self-titled debut without him. They included his tune 'Dino's Song' as a sign of solidarity, but as fate would have it, Valente wouldn't actually join the band until its original lineup was a distant memory.

Their second album, Happy Trails, stands as one of the finest documents of the late-60's psychedelic ballroom scene. Portions of the album were recorded live at Fillmore West in San Francisco, and Fillmore East in New York, and the music here provides a fair idea of what an evening out must have sounded like at that time. Side One is given over to an extended jam on Bo Diddley's classic 'Who Do You Love'. Divided into six parts, the song stretches Diddley's musical theme in a remarkable number of directions without ever feeling tired or repetitive.

Much of that is down to John Cipollina - one of the most distinctive (and under-appreciated) guitarists in the annals of rock. His ringing, soaring guitar tone is as recognizable (to those in the know) as Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen. But Cipollina's brilliance here is of a piece with the rest of the group, and his flights of fancy are a natural extension of their musical explorations.

Happy Trails was the last album to feature all four original Quicksilver members. Rhythm guitarist Gary Duncan would leave the band shortly after the album was released in March of 1969, and with him went the magic that drove the group to the frantic heights captured here. As my Uncle Henry (a huge fan of the band since back in the day) told me recently "Duncan was more than a rhythm guitarist - he was like a second lead guitar in the group. They were never the same after he left."

This is the sound of a band at the top if its game, and an album that vividly conjures a specific time and place. However, unlike much of the pointless psychedelic noodlings of that time, Happy Trails needs no pharmacological assistance to reveal its brilliance. But by all means, smoke 'em if you got 'em...

Listen: Who Do You Love - Part 1

Listen II: When You Love

The Doors consistently served up an apocalyptic mixture of blues, booze, and scorched earth. In particular, lead singer Jim Morrison seemed hell-bent on taking the self-destructive, larger than life path of most resistance - fighting with police officers, agitating Ed Sullivan, drinking himself into vocal incompetence, and berating his audiences like an overbearing schoolmaster.

On L.A. Woman, Morrison sounds like a fighter who's gone ten rounds - slurring and bleary-eyed, surviving on guts and instinct and a swollen ego - and he never sang better. The best blues are lived-in, and by 1970, the self-anointed Lizard King had brawled and drank and jackassed his way to emeritus bluesman status.

On album opener 'Changeling' he belts out some of the toughest vocals of his rarely soft career. By all accounts Morrison was an inconsistent performer in the studio, and often relied on alcohol to help him get his vocal takes. But here he leaves nothing on the table, lashing into every syllable of every song. "Well, I've been down so Goddamn long/That it looks like up to me" he sings on 'Been Down So Long', and he doesn't sound like he's making it up. To prove the point, he turns in a near-definitive take of John Lee Hooker's 'Crawling King Snake'.

This album is filled with minor Doors classics - 'L'America' 'The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)' and 'Love Her Madly', to name but three. But it's also home to two very major classics - the title track and 'Riders On The Storm'. 'L.A. Woman' is perhaps the quintessential song about the City of Angels, a searing, majestic, venomous song that sounds three times better when played in a speeding convertible on a hot day. Meanwhile 'Riders On The Storm' has Morrison putting on the killer mask and imagining what it's like to become unhinged, with a brain that's "squirming like a toad".

The title track contains the phrase "Mr Mojo Risin" which was an anagram for "Jim Morrison". But Morrison was very much on a descending arc, and this album was released a mere four months before he croaked. On L.A. Woman he sings like a man who knows that time is running out, with minds still to be turned, and cities yet unburned.

Listen: L.A. Woman

Consider the old panels on the subway platform wall, and observe the finely wrought precision with which each strip of peeling paint has by the hands of time been distressed in the subtlest shades of gold and silver, all displayed in a collage with the glue and paper of generations long deceased. We know there will be many who fail to see the beauty of these forgotten panels, and will respond to our assessment with scorn and disbelief. Yet before you judge, we again invite to you to behold the works in person. Here you have the abstract expression of the city itself, resplendent in decay and neglect, and to observe it for even these few seconds fills us with the transcendent bliss of true insignificance.

– The Gay Recluse, September 2007

bio - BIOgeography
ta - TAxonomy
mo - MOrphology
phy - PHYsiology
gen - GENetics
em - EMbryology
eco - ECOlogy
vo - eVOlution

toodles.

p.s. all the thinking came from my wife. :)

The quote above is so true, life is a series of snapshots and most of the time when make judgments of life based on one snapshot. At a very young age when learn the hustle of living, running from here to there, watching our parents try to fit all the things that are suppose to be in a day in. As artist we have a gift that can capture moments along the way to serve as a reminder of what was, but are we capturing snapshots or masterpieces? What is the difference? A snapshot gives us a glance of that moment and forces people to make a judgment based on that moment. A masterpiece tells the story, shows the character, reveals the emotion and paints a broader detail for judgment. For me it is the difference between doing the art just to be doing and doing the art because I am passionate about art, people and life.
Today are you creating snapshots or masterpieces?

Because the Beasties' second album, Paul's Boutique is now considered a stone classic by almost everyone who counts, it's easy to forget that it didn't sell particularly well or have many critics lining up behind it at the time. Rolling Stone printed a glowing review upon its release, only to pan the album in its 1989 year-end issue. Because Paul's Boutique barely scratched gold sales (500,000 copies) it was considered something of a failure in its day.

But chilly critical reception and sub-standard sales alone didn't make the album a poor career template. The Manhattan-sized collage of samples that comprised Paul's Boutique was an angle doomed by changes in copyright and sampling laws - overnight it became the type of record that would cost millions upon millions to produce. The Beastie Boys were smart enough to sense the prevailing trends and head in a surprising new direction.

Before 1992, the idea of this group playing their own instruments and acting like a real band was something akin to science fiction. But right from its front cover the drastic attitude change of Check Your Head was starkly apparent. Featuring a fuzzy black and white photograph of the group looking like skate punks, it marked an extreme departure from the cartoon lear jet on the cover of Licensed To Ill and the technicolor fish-eyed Brooklyn intersection that graces Paul's Boutique. The inside photos show the band playing (playing!) and looking like they were deeply into it.

This detour produced a more mature, organic sound that simultaneously pointed towards the group's future, while drawing upon their punk roots. Check Your Head built extensively on the dusty samples and sharp-tongued, smart-assed attitude of albums past. By adding live funk grooves and intense punk energy to the mix, the Beasties expanded their sonic parameters by miles, and helped usher in an era of eclectically influenced groups performing wildly hybridized styles of music that refused to be defined by narrow record store bin labels.

Listen: Funky Boss

Like most dumb Americans, I thought Steely Dan was a single person until a few months after I graduated college. It was a name that had always floated around my musical periphery, but until late-1992, I couldn't have named a single Steely Dan song if you'd paid me a million dollars. During my poor, post-college phase, I shopped around Portland's record store dollar bins, and my favorite spot for bargains was Django's well-stocked 3-for-a-buck bin (or 33&1/3 cents apiece!).

One of my prime purchases there was Steely Dan's Greatest Hits 1972-1978. I bought it on a whim, because again, it was a name I'd heard and was interested in learning more about. Plus that album cover throws off a lot of mystery, and by selecting a double album, I was stretching my entertainment dollar to Manute Bol proportions, paying just a bit more than 16 cents per platter.

Anyway, when I finally got around to playing this album, I was floored that all of these songs (most all of which I knew) came from a single group. This collection leads off with 'Do It Again' and I'm certain that I played that song about fifty times, over and over again, before I even made it to the second tune. And so on and so on, one familiar 70's hit after another - 'Reeling In The Years' 'Kid Charlemagne' 'Pretzel Logic' 'Doctor Wu'. These songs seemed more like the kind of short stories you'd read in the back of a pulp magazine than something from 70's AM radio. Becker and Fagan also looked to me like a couple of nerdy bookworms, but their sound was often brass knuckles-tough - very intriguing.

Once I'd cut my teeth on this collection, I spent about ten bucks total buying all of the band's studio albums - from Can't Buy A Thrill right through to Gaucho (my personal favorite). And proceeded to... play... the living... shit... out of them. And why not? Each of their albums represent a different hue within the darkest side of American pop. It was all hard-boiled, cynical, and tuneful as could be. Even after all these years of listening, it still amazes me that this collection of songs could come from a single band - or a single man, for that matter.

Listen: Do It Again

The scariest horror movie monsters are those deliberate, lumbering instruments of death like Frankenstein, the Terminator, and that gang of zombies from Night Of The Living Dead. These creatures were never going to outrun you, but one way or another they were going to end up with their hands around your throat. Much of Black Sabbath's music sounds like that - abnormally strong, consumed with darkness, and fully intent on destruction.

Sabbath made seven consecutive albums worth of mini-epic horror flicks, starring Tony Iommi's guitar and Ozzy Osbourne's pipes. Ozzy is easily the greatest heavy metal singer of all-time, simply because he never lost control of his vocals, never lapsed into operatic silliness, and always sounded like the voice of doom itself. Meanwhile Iommi played his guitar like a man wielding a sledgehammer. If Iommi's riffs were the sound of a broken bell tolling within a burning church, then Ozzy was the creature standing among the rubble, licking blood from his fangs and savoring every drop.

On Sabbath's third studio album, Master Of Reality, they dipped their sound in sludge and made the heaviest album of their very, very heavy career. In his November 1971 review of the album, uber-critic Lester Bangs observed that "Rock & Roll has always been noise, and Black Sabbath have boiled that noise to its resinous essence."

Oddly, Sabbath were most often compared to Grand Funk Railroad in their day - proving both that they were critically misunderstood and utterly without peer. Nonetheless, Master Of Reality is a massively influential album that spawned a thousand metal zombies, who rose from their shallow graves to stagger into the grey sunrise of the 80's.

Listen: Into The Void

Hidden deep behind the shiny facade of giant robots, karate and burbling electronic noises is the simple concept at the heart of Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - a concept that many critics have approached without ever precisely articulating. On its surface, The Flaming Lips' 2002 album is a muddled story about a squadron of Japanese girls fighting invaders who possess artificial intelligence, but thankfully there's much less to it than that.

The surface story makes for good sci-fi, prog-rock comparisons, and led many a reviewer to proclaim that Yoshimi's driving concept was 'man vs. technology' 'synthetic vs. reality' or practically any other William Gibson/Ray Bradbury plot-line you care to conjure up [choose your fave]. But its true meaning is as clear as the pimple on the end of your nose: this is an album about the confusing journey from childhood into adolescence.

Why all the smoke and mirrors? Put it this way: child-like innocence and rock were separated from one another by punk rock, and finally divorced when grunge went nuclear in the early 90's. Engagement was replaced by detachment, and in place of wonder we were given irony, lots of it. For all their rhetorical nihilism, the punks were very earnest creatures, but wide-eyed enthusiasm is a stance that just don't get around much anymore.

Thus Yoshimi covertly addresses many of the fundamental questions that a young person faces as they begin to morph into an adult. The fact that Wayne Coyne tackles them in a voice that's constantly on the verge of cracking only adds icing to the conceptual cake. When is it okay to stand and fight? How can I hang on to my imagination? Why are feelings so complex? What does love mean? What does death mean? Those are the kind of questions I asked myself a lot between the ages of 10 and 15, and as much as I'd like to claim otherwise, they're the same things I'm still asking myself, more than two decades later.

Listen: Fight Test

*****

Past Masters
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds [17 Oct 07]
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here [14 May 07]

only time will tell, time will turn and tell...

but thoughts they change and times they rearrange, i don't know who you are anymore. loves come and go and this i know, i'm not who you recall anymore. but i must confess you're so much more than i remember. can't help but entertain these thoughts, thoughts of us together...

...my daily friend

so let me get this straight, all these years and you were no where to be found. and now you want me for your own, but you're a day late. and my love, she's still renowned.

we are who we were when, could have been lovers but at least you're still my day late friend. we are who, we are who we were when. who knew what we know now, could have been more but at least you're still my day late friend...

we are who, we are who we were when.

Order Joyce, Race and 'Finnegans Wake' from Amazon for $54.40

I've been surprised that dk hasn't writen about this album in greater depth. It's long been in his list of top Blue Note albums. And mine too. This recording captures some of the best work by two of the best soloists in jazz history - and recorded by one of the legendary behind-the-scenes figures in jazz, Rudy Van Gelder. (It's no secret I have a little crush on Mr. Van Gelder.)

Named for the Miles Davis composition, this album is a conversation between Miles Davis on trumpet and Cannonball Adderley on alto sax. (The collaboration between Adderley and Davis continued in 1959 with Davis's universally acclaimed Kind of Blue, by this same powerful group of musicians.)

But words don't due this album justice: listen for yourself.

Autumn Leaves

Masterpiece.

TITLE: 
Somethin' Else

ARTIST: 
Cannonball Adderley

PERSONNEL:
Cannonball Adderley (alto sax)
Miles Davis (tenor sax)
Hank Jones (piano)
Sam Jones (bass)
Art Blakey (drums)

TRACK LISTING: 
1. Autumn Leaves
2. Love For Sale 
3. Somethin' Else
4. One For Daddy-O 
5. Dancing In The Dark
6. Bangoon - (bonus track)

Original Release Date: March 9, 1958

I really enjoyed this, even if some of the images morph a bit quicker than I would have liked.

AO video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7cEAvkhcLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRCnnA3-1sQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWSlwBz4OCM

AO Screenshot:

http://ao.igg.com

good luck, and enjoy playing, as well as i am enjoying it right now.

toodles.